Shoe-fastener.



1. W. HANLEY. S'HOE FASTENER.

APPLICATION FlLfD AUG-2l 1914.A HENEWED MAY 2. 19E?.

WIT/VESSES UNTER .roniv-wrnmmvrrrannnt; on Nnwonrt, n.' Y., essaierai-on or ONE-HALF To KATE nannanir,` or new YORK, n. Y.

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Patented Nov. 20,1917.

application filed august' 211, 19'14;4 senat N; 857,984. Renewed May 2, 1917. serieu' no: 166,052i

To'aZZv/w "w'm' it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN niniaar I-IAN- LEY, a citizen of the United States,- and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county and Stateyof New York, have invented new and Imi proved Shoe-Fastener, of which the follow# ing is a full, clear, and eXact description.

This invention relates to shoe fasteners, and has particular reference to fasteners for lacing shoes.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide a `fastener for a shoe comprising an endless or closed loop at its upper portion adapted to take the place of the usual pair of loose ends which must be knotted or tied after the lacing is completed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fastener which economizes over an ordinary shoe-string fastener in the element of time for fastening and unfastening, as well as in the amount of material and wear and tear upon the structure of the string itself. In addition to economy in the string, I also provide the minimum degree of annoyance due to accidental undoing or unfastening of the strings commonly used.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention are carried out in the preferred manner in accordance with the following description and accompanying illustrations, in which .Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoe, showing a fastener during the stages of application to the shoe;

Fig. 2 is a similar view, indicating the fastening nearly completed;

Fig. 3 shows the fastening complete; and

Fig. 4 is a broken view of a shoe lace, with respect to the end attaching means and the finger-piece slidable at the loop portion.

The several parts of the device may be made of any suitable materials, and the relative sizes and proportions thereof, as well as the general design of the mechanism, may be varied to a considerable extent without departing from the spirit of the invention hereinafter claimed.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, I show at S a shoe of conventional form, having its upper provided with a series of eyelets s and also a series of hooks s.

The fastener comprises a flexible member 10 of any suitable construction, such as webhing similar to the usual shoe-strings,

leather, or' the like, and which, for colivenience, will be referred to hereinafter simply asa string. I prefer to attach to the ends of thestring a hook 11,V and' an' eye or ring 12, of a size small enough to pass freely through the` shoeeyelets s'.- The hook and eye, however, are to be understood as illustrations of any suitable means for securing the ends of the string together, making a permanent attachment between the string and the shoe upper.

The first step in the application of the fastener to the shoe is for the ends 11 and 12 of the string` to be passed inwardly through the uppermost eyelets s, and then for the end portions of the string to be crossed and laced downwardly, as shown in Fig. 1, until the bottom eyelets are reached, when the ends are secured together. The string is then drawn upwardly, causing the hook and eye to be substantially hidden from view beneath the leather of the shoe upper, as indicated in Fig. 2. The middle portion of the string is then in the nature of an open, endless loop, which may readily be grasped and handled with the fingers of one hand for the purpose of completing the tying of the shoe. The next step, then, is for the loop to be crossed and recrossed, making engagement of the hooks s', beginning at the lowermost hooks until the uppermost hooks are reached,

- when, if any of the loop remains loose, the

crossing and recrossing may be continued again downwardly until the desired degree of tightness is reached. It will be appre ciated, therefore, that when the shoe is fastened in this manner, there will be no loose, dangling, unsightly ends of the string, nor any which must be tucked within the shoe upper, to the wearers discomfort. The unfastening obviously may be eected by a reversal of the steps above indicated.

To add to the facility in manipulating the fastener, I prefer to use a nger-piece 13 of any desired form or construction and connected to the loop of the string in any suitable manner. I prefer that the finger-piece 13 shall be slidably connected to the loop, whereby it may accommodate itself thereto, irrespective of the precise adjustment of the string, and whereby the manipulation of the string is facilitated. The finger-piece illustrated comprises a ball having a transverse hole or eye 13, through which the string is threaded, said eye being large enough for either end of the string to pass through originally. In addition to its being a means for manipulating the loop of the string, the finger-piece may constitute an ornamental feature for the shoe, and as many of such elements may be employed in connection with each string as may be desired for this purpose, and located at different points along the front of the shoe.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent l. In combination, a shoe lace having ends adapted to be permanently connected, and a nger piece permanently applied thereto and 15 freely slidable thereon. Y

2. In combination, a shoe lace having ends adapted to be permanently connected forming a closed loop, and a nger piece permanently connected to said loop, substantially 20 as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of tvvo subscribing Witnesses.

JOI-IN WILLIAM HANLEY;

VWitnesses: A

Gno. L. BEELEmf A. H. GOEBEL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing theL Commissioner of Patents,

AVlashington, D. C. 

